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(No Model.)

G; E. GREEGY & A. B. BURNS.

. FIRE ESCAPE.

No. 279,347. Patented June 12 1883.

I NEEQSQEESX WITNESSES: INVENTORS, j r I I I fi m 7&7 w/ffl;

' AfTdRNfisl N4 PETERS. mwmhe n hu, WahingtomPf C.

closed down upon the man-hole.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. OREECY AND ALEXANDER B. BURNS, OF WASHINGTON, D. C.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPEGiFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 279,347, dated June 12,1883.

Application filed January 17,1383. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, OHARLEs EATON OREEcY and ALEXANDER B. Evans, ofWVashington, in the District of Columbia, have i11- vented cert-ain new.and useful Improvements in FireEscapes; and we do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention,which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had totheaccompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, inwhich- Figure 1 is a perspective view of so much of a fire-escape as isnecessary to illustrate our improvement, showing the reversible platformFig. 2 is a similar view, showing the reversible platform in positionunder the window. Fig. 3 is a plan ortop view of the man-hole frame withthe platform removed, and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view ofpart of the reversible platform on an enlarged scale.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresp ending parts in all thefigures.

Our invention has relation to the balconies or platforms which are usedon buildings asa means of escape through the windows in case of fire, inconjunction with stand-pipes and ladders, said balconies or platformsbeing adapted to serve also as supports for the firemen in coupling hoseto the stand-pipe and opening the connecting-valves, and our improvementconsists in the construction and arrangement of a reversible platform,as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In. the accompanying drawings, A denotes the ladder, and B thestand-pipe, which are placed in juxtaposition. to each other. "e preferto arrange the ladder and stand-pipe as shown in the drai 'ings,connected by clamps or buckles C, so as to mutually brace and supporteach other andyet leave a narrow space between the side rail oftheladder and the standpipe next to it, so that a person ascending ordescending the ladder may grasp the side rails withboth hands, and thussteady himself with out taking hold of the ladder-rounds. Thisconstruction of the stand-pipe and ladder is more fully shown anddescribed by us in an application for Letters Patent for certainimprovements in fire-escapes filed December 29, 1882.

The ladder is fastened firmly to the outside wall of the building ateach story by means of a square or rectangular frame, 1), one side ofwhich is bolted to the side rails of the ladder;

or it may be clamped or otherwise fastened thereto in afirm andsubstantial manner, while the other or opposite side is fastened in thewall by two or more anehors,E F. The inside of this frame is rabbeted,as shown at d, to receive the folding or reversible platform F, which ishung to that end of the frame nearest the window by suitably-constructedhinges, so that it may be opened like the cover of a box and reversed,as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. When in this reversedposition the free end of the reversible platform is sup ported upon aniron arm or bracket, G,-thc inner end of which is firmly anchored in thewall below the window-sill, while on the other 'hand,when closed orfolded down upon frame D, the platform is firmly supported upon therabbeted inner edge of the frame, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

Several important advantages result from this construction andarrangement. In the first place, the building is not disfigured by thebalconies or platforms projecting underneath the windows, and often usedas convenient receptacles or depositories for ash-barrels, slopbuckets,and household utensils of various kinds. Again, tl-ie'framc D forms asafe and substantial fastening for the ladder and stand-pipe upon thewall of the building, firmly bracing and steadying them, so as toprevent lateral motion or oscillation in using the ladder or during theprevalence ofhigh winds. W'here swinging baskets operated by cords andpulleys running on ways. suspended under the caves of the building areused as an auxiliary means of escape, these platforms can be folded backupon. their frames, so as to be out of the way of. the basket as itascends or descends in front of the windows, and as that side of theplatform which is uppermost when it is re versed, resting uponthebracket G, is 011 the clearly on the enlarged view Fig. 4 of thedrawings, leaving a clear space between each pair of cross-bars ofsufficient width to permit snow and ice falling on the platform to dropthrough. A

Having thus described our invention, we claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States 1. The reversible platform F, hingedin a frame, D, anchored to the wall of a building, and adapted to beswung into position under the window with its free end supported uponthe bracket G, substantially as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

2. The combination, with the ladder A and stand-pipe B of a fire-escape,of the frame D and reversible platform F, substantially as and for thepurpose shown and set forth.

3. The reversible platform F, having an iceproof bed constructed of ovalparallel crossbars a, substantially as and for the purpose shown and setforth. V

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereuntoaffixed our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES EATON CREEGY. ALEXANDER B. BUR-NS. XVitnesses:

LoUIs BAGGER, \VM. Snonnu.

